It’s a Japanese Knotweed one…

[Aliciainwunderland]

Recently realised that neighbours have Japanese knot weed on their property and we have one plant growing. Honestly just thought they had some pretty trees - had no idea that what it looked like!

they had a specialist come out to quote and we have agreed to go with the herbicide treatment with them paying the majority. The knotweed is not anywhere near our houses. They will pay for the treatment and I’ll pay our share to them and then I said that I would speak to the company direct regarding the 5 or 10 year guarantee as this is done per property. The company had said I’m ‘required’ to get their guarantee - but I can’t quite work out what it does unless we are selling the house, which we don’t plan to for a very long time… is it worth it? Seems like a lot of money for a price of paper!

Well how much will it cost to treat if it comes back? If the guarantee protects you for that period, then that is what you are buying
Whether it is worth the paper it is printed on is a whole other question!

So I can’t seem to get an answer on that from the company! Also, as part of the treatment they will come back and re treat for 3 years so I feel it would be more effective to get it at the end of 4 years. Looking online - it’s seems it’s not an insurance policy and would still have to pay for treatment in those 10 years.

How much is the policy?

If you are not selling, don't worry about it, spray it heavily with a strong glyphosate and when its wilted remove all visible plant and roots and burn in an incinerator in the garden.

Keep an eye, it will likely grow back, treat and remove again, eventually the weedkiller will destroy the plant unless its growing from a larger patch, say on a railway embankment.

I have it down the back of the garden, grown in from the railway, I don't try and kill it, just trim and prune to keep it looking pretty, which it does, beautiful flowers!

So the treatment costs 4K total across both our gardens. They will come back every six months to treat for the next 3 years. The guarantee costs 2k per household and only covers I believe the areas that they have treated. So if it comes back again somewhere else - would have to pay for additional treatment. So I’m confused why I need to pay for additional cover in then next 3 years if they will already come back to treat it??

Seems a lot of money for very little, what if the company went bust or the plant appears somewhere else? as you say, you pay again.

If it were me, i'd spray and keep spraying until its gone or inject and let your neighbour do as they wish.

I guess what threw me was the email saying it’s ‘required’. To be honest feel the company is fear - mongering. I don’t feel it is required - more recommended.

Perhaps you could approach another firm or two and get other quotes, and then compare them to see which offers the better deal.

£2k. That is ridculous. It is the same price as the treatment for your property.

Surely the insurance policy should be free if they are only insuring the areas they have treated?

What a rip-off.

Have your neighbours shopped around? Do all the suppliers charge an extortionate price for an insurance policy?

I’d speak to a surveyor and find out a bit more.

Also I’d be looking at claiming on the neighbours insurance rather than contributing to the cost of solving their problem.

if you ever want to sell and you have had treatment for knotweed this may have a serious impact on the value of your house, so on that basis I would be checking things over with a lawyer and making sure that you are following the right course of action before you commit to any treatment or contribution.

Yes you do have to get rid of it it's the law now. If it spreads in your garden which it will it can cost up to 10k to remove and involve the destruction of your garden. You will never be able to sell your house.
I always get three quotes from specialists no matter what work I'm getting done.
My DS's house purchase has just fallen through because they tried to hide the Japanese knotweed in their garden.

Totally agree. Definitely get it.

You may not need to sell your house now but life throws curve balls. You will need every scrap of paper saying it has been properly dealt with to ever sell your house.

So keep the paperwork safe and ask for additional paperwork stating it has been dealt with and no further growth has been seen at the end of the treatment period.

It may cost you a bit now but it's a fraction of the % not being able to prove what was done will take off the value of your home.

If the knotweed has come from next door, why are you paying for it? I'd be looking for them to foot the entire bill as they are responsible.

You need to get some quotes of your own if you are going to pay. The extra charge seems a complete rip off.

If the problem is coming from over your boundary, then the first thing to do is build ,install some kind of ground barrier to stop any further intrusion.

As an above poster said you can get rid of it yourself, cut the stems, syringe glyphosate down them and repeat on any new growth till it stops coming back.
Ive never had anything that constant dosing with glyphosate didn’t kill off.

its just time and patience.

It's illegal for your neighbour to let it spread to other properties, based on that doesn't seem right that you are now having to park so much!!

They will come back and treat, but the idea of insurance is that it will be covered even if the company goes bust or refuses to come back or is incompetent.
As with all these kinds of insurance, it's money for old rope, it doesn't really gain you anything but people will pay through the nose to keep a house sale on track

Def consider it a joint responsibility with our neighbours. We have a very weird garden configuration and we didn’t enclose off really could have been anything causing it to spread - dogs deer ect. Neither of us had any idea it was there as I had no idea what it looked like until someone pointed it out - I just thought it was pretty! I have no problem sharing the cost of the treatment but I really want to understand what the benefit of the guarantee as it doesn’t seem to cover anything additional in the first three years and feel it’s just paying for something that I would need to sell the house but if we did sell would need an updated one anyway!

They are aware now and taking action. Hard to explain as on an area of their property but not their ‘garden’ so they honestly never saw it. They have larger, I assume older plants, so could have spread from there but we live near river and could have spread in anyway. I recognise we didn’t do enough to enclose our garden so see it as a joint effort.

Thank you - this is helpful. I guess only if it’s an insurance backed guarantee that would mean if they do go bust it will pay for the additional treatment.

So in theory i could have spread from your garden into their’s ?

That’s not the question I’m asking! They have large flowering plants and we have new growth so I assume the other way round. I walk past their land to access a footpath so think it’s likely I have spread it by doing that.

just asking about the guaruntee and if it’s a requirement as the company is telling me

I don’t know much about Japanese knotweed apart from what I’ve seen on tv. Is it actually possible to completely get rid of it?

Regarding the guarantee, I think you need to read the fine print of the quote from the company. What is the guarantee for? Why is it required?

It's not illegal to have knotweed on your property, only if you allow it to spread. So your neighbours might be in a world of pain if you chose to take action regarding damages....

Have a look here:
https://www.environetuk.com/japanese-knotweed/legal
And
https://www.knotweedhelp.com/japanese-knotweed-law/#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20legal%20stipulation,responsible%20for%20clearing%20that%20infestation.
And
https://japaneseknotweed.co.uk/japanese-knotweed-and-the-law/
And
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading